Hospitality Management

Major

If you enjoy interacting with people and working in an energized environment where guests are looking to have fun, this major might suit your personality.

Lakeland's hospitality management program has been strong for two decades, and continues to send qualified graduates into exciting, fast-paced careers at resorts, hotels, restaurants and even on cruise ships around the world.

Right in Lakeland's backyard, world-class resorts such as the American Club in Kohler, the Osthoff Resort in Elkhart Lake and Blue Harbor in Sheboygan draw guests from near and far. Internationally renowned golf courses Whistling Straits, Blackwolf Run and The Bull are also in the immediate neighborhood. Simply put, internships and long-term career opportunities in the lodging, food and beverage and other hospitality businesses abound.

See the world

In addition to the numerous local opportunities, Lakeland College believes in branching out, so this major also features incredible travel opportunities around the world.

We've become more focused on globalization. In the last 10 years, we've taken faculty-led trips with students to South Korea, Cancun, Costa Rica and the Bahamas.

This major falls under the business umbrella, so you will leave Lakeland armed with a strong base of core business classes. But there is also tremendous flexibility associated with this major, so you can personalize your hospitality management degree with other emphases – such as marketing or international business.

Hospitality Management at Lakeland

One of the many things that make Lakeland's hospitality management program particularly strong is the requirement of two internships, or an internship combined with a study abroad experience. Upcoming study abroad opportunities include China, Japan, Cancun and Luxembourg, and Lakeland students have recently interned at hotels or resorts in Tokyo and Guam.

In addition, because hospitality management is such an international industry, two semesters of a foreign language (Spanish, German, Chinese or Japanese) are required. With this degree, you will be hirable across the U.S. and beyond.

Snapshot of Success

Name: Markus Savaglio

Hometown: Kenosha, Wis.

Title: General Manager

Business: Inns of Geneva National

While growing up, Markus recalls, he almost never went on vacation.

“The one time I did,” he says, “I loved it so much.”

He was 13 when his uncle brought him along on a family trip to Jamaica. That excursion, and all the fun that accompanied it, left quite an impression on young Markus. Enough of an impression, in fact, that about five years later, he decided a career in the hotel/resort industry was for him.

Now, as general manager of the luxurious Inns of Geneva National in Lake Geneva, Wis., Markus, a 2010 Lakeland College graduate, is responsible for all facets of the golf resort’s day-to-day operations. He makes sure the rates are competitive, that renovations are planned and completed and that reservationists treat the customers correctly, among many other duties. In short, he’s responsible for all day-to-day operations.

Lakeland’s hospitality management program helped Markus immensely, he says, adding that the core business curriculum blends perfectly with the hospitality industry-specific classes.

In addition to the solid mix of instruction, Markus says, Lakeland’s emphasis on real-world, out-of- classroom learning was a tremendous benefit. He completed an internship at Pacific Islands Club in Guam and worked at nationally renowned American Club in Kohler, Wis., and Blue Harbor Resort in Sheboygan, Wis., while in school.

“Lakeland really helped me prepare for my career by providing me plenty of opportunity to learn through practical experience,” he says. “I was really pleased with the major.”

Recent Grads, Real Careers

Listed below are just some of the jobs Lakeland College hospitality management students from recent graduating classes have landed: